Welcome to Episode 57 of Good Will Hunters with the Honourable Pat Conroy. Pat is the Member for Shortland in NSW. He is also the Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Shadow Minister Assisting for Climate Change and the Shadow Minister Assisting for Defence.

Pat has held the portfolios since June of 2019. In this episode, Pat responds to the comments made by Minister Alex Hawke on this show a few weeks back. We chat about the intersection of our aid program and climate change, the consequences of reducing our aid budget along with our presence in many regions of the world, the focus on infrastructure in the Pacific, matters of natural security and regional stability, and a lot more.

As you would know, it’s a really pivotal time to be discussing aid and what our new aid policy should look like. The ALP and the Coalition have different perspectives on our aid program, and I hope that through these episodes we can unpack what those differences are and contribute to a more informed debate on how we can maximise our impact overseas.

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team